This is probably a worn out question but I am asking anyway. I have a hankering for above said rifle (once I sell or trade my m&p9c). About how much should I expect to spend on a fairly used one? Also, I don't know much about the different ones out there, any thoughts?

Last year, I bought a Marlin 1894c that was made around 2000. The previous owner (who bought it new) said he'd only put about 20 rounds through it. It looked like new, and I believe his estimated round count.

I ended up paying close to $600, which is about what the new 1894c's go for, but the wood and bluing looked better on the used gun.

I can't comment on other 38/357 lever guns, but the general consensus is that older Marlins are more desirable than the new ones, so you may not find them to be very cheap.

If you can find one get a BL 92 Browning they are worth every penny I got a 38/357 and a 44 love 'em both JMB invented them as well as scores of others. He is the most copied firearm inventer in history why settle for a copy?

Last edited by David R. Svatos; December 16, 2012 at 11:19 PM.
Reason: misspelled word

I have been researching and it looks like the Rossi is the only one in my price range. I am aware of the issues but it seems like they can all be remedied with some elbow grease. Would it be a bad idea to start out with one?

I have the Marlin 1894 in .38-.357 that I bought new in 1981. Micro-groove rifling, no cross bolt safty. As I recall I paid $140. for it. I have taken several deer with it including a nice 8 point and a big 10 point. It is still in like new condition and one of my favorate Marlins.

I know they are much more expensive now, but I have no qualms about recomending one.

The Rossi is a good choice. I just got a .44 to go with the .357 I bought a few months ago. In both cases I was able to examine the gun before the purchase. They are hit and miss from what I've read. Here is a forum with a lot of good info on these rifles: http://www.rossi-rifleman.com/index....32d0c2ed142141

On neither of my guns does the wood fit to the metal as well as it could. However it's close enough and you can't tell unless you look for it. In my case I want a light and crisp trigger (2 lbs). This was easy to do with the .357. I stoned the insides and used a spring kit. Btw the spring kit from Brownell's comes with an ejector spring that will not fit. Another issue I have is that there are machine marks on the loading gate of the .357 and they are not subtle. No other issues I can think of off hand.

The action on my .357 is slick as can be. The .44 rifle action I haven't been able to get to yet but the new action is a bit rough. The trigger has a little creep but isn't bad for a stock gun. Triggers on both guns were decent out of the box.

With a little work the trigger can be nearly perfect on these guns. With my older eyes I can get consistent 1.25" groups at 50 yards with the .357 and there's no doubt in my mind the gun is capable of 1" or less at that range. The bluing on both guns is as good as the bluing on a Ruger.

Overall you get a pretty decent gun for 450 bucks or so. If you do the action job and refinish the stocks it can be very nice to shoot and to look at.

The Brazilian 1892 reproductions are the most economical. The '92 action is strong and compact (thank you JM Browning). Expect it to be stiff and rough out of the box. Some of them are very ammo sensitive especially if you shoot the shorter .38 Special rounds. If it won't feed try different bullet shapes and cartridges with a longer overall length.

Here is the guy to know on improving the '92: http://stevesgunz.com/ He sells a DVD if you want to slick it up yourself and he also does action work on these rifles. If I was in the market for a '92 I would probably just buy it from Steve Young with the action work done.

For many years the Marlin was an excellent choice. A little more expensive than the '92 but they can be slicked up quite nicely. Then Remington bought the company and moved the lever action production line. Many complaints about poor quality control. Remington suspended production of the 1894 rifles for a while. Hopefully they will get better but in the meanwhile the market price of a good used Marlin has gone way up. A friend of mine paid $800 recently for a like-new Marlin and was lucky to find it.

The top rifle in cowboy action is a Uberti reproduction 1873 or 1866 Winchester. They are expensive and that's before you spend more money on them to slick them up to realize their potential. I really like my '73 but if you are not shooting cowboy action and trying to get to the point where you can shoot 10 rounds out of the rifle, 10 from the revolvers and load and fire four shotgun shells in less than, oh, 17 seconds or so, you might not want to put that much money into a lever rifle.

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